Just de-register MIC, nobody is going to miss them

The MIC’s internal politics and open bickering, has been dragging on for far too long and its leaders, who are supposed to be the champions of the people seem to have forgotten why they are there in the first place.

So much has happened since the Registrar of Societies (RoS) ordered the party to hold re-election of its 2013 polls. The two warring teams attacked each other's credibility, suspended each other and in the process, sacked the elected president and installed an acting president.

Both parties brought their supporters over the weekend to the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) to show the country who actually had the numbers.

Both had impressive numbers of supporters who turned up.

So much so, that even Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is now confused on who is leading the party now.

Here is a recap of what had transpired in the last seven months.

After mulling over a year, the RoS finally decided that MIC should hold a re-election of its 2013 party polls.

Deputy president (now acting president) Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and his supporters wanted to get it over and done with but Palanivel's team were not too happy. To comply with RoS orders would mean that the party president had erred. And so, he embarked on a legal battle, albeit a short one, to fight the order.

He seemed to have temporarily won when the court granted a leave for the judicial review but on June 15, the High Court dismissed the judicial review applications with costs.

One would have thought that this would be the end of the battle but no, Palanivel had other ideas. He and four other MIC leaders have since filed applications for stay over the High Court's dismissal.

The court had fixed July 10 to hear the applications.

The RoS orders are not unique. It had ordered the DAP to hold its Central Executive Committee (CEC) December 2012 elections as irregularities were found in the poll. DAP had initially kicked up a fuss but finally the re-election about nine months later. In other words, the party moved on.

Now, what if the RoS just deregisters MIC for not complying with its orders? Would it serve as a warning to political parties and NGOs on who is the boss? Or would it create chaos in the Indian community that the party claims to represent?

Will anyone even notice it is no longer a legal organisation?

MIC leaders, while busy fighting among themselves, have quite lost the touch with the ground and the needs of the people.

READ: MIC crisis: Palanivel, unmasked!

READ: MIC crisis: Who should lead now?

The Indian community at large are not interested in MIC party matters as they are already struggling to make ends meet with the rising prices of goods, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), lack of business opportunities and not to mention the still prevalent gangsterism and alcohol abuse.

Yes, the party still offers financial aid or services especially welfare related, but by and large, the community has moved on to bigger matters. The people are less concerned about new temples and Tamil schools. They have bigger problems - overseas education offers, loans for businesses, drug addiction, rising number of divorces, bullying, school dropouts, and again, the basics like identity cards and birth certificates.

When was the last time MIC president or his deputy spoke for the community? And whatever happened to the Cabinet Committee on Indian Affairs?

Despite being the biggest political party for the Indians, the split within it had made the party almost powerless in being the voice of the Indians.

Despite having two representatives in the Cabinet, the party today is at its weakest. Caste politics aside, the split within is hindering the party from moving forward and harnessing new talents.

So, what will happen if the party is de-registered?

The answer is simple. Nobody is going to miss them.